Updated to iOS 26 on iPhone 12 Pro Max, now having major problems

1. Restart your iPhone - Apple Support
2. There are probably 50 ways that email may not work; what are your symptoms specifically?
3. iOS: Troubleshooting FaceTime and iMessage activation
4. There is no iTunes in iOS 26 (or iOS 18)
5. Teams is not an Apple product

However, there is one issue that can cause all of the above except 1:

Do you have a 3rd party VPN installed, even if you are not using it? If so, delete the VPN profile in Settings/General/VPN & Device Management/VPN, then restart your device. Don't just turn it off; delete the profile. If that fixes it, you can try reinstalling VPN, but probably shouldn't.

Thank you so much for the tip about the 3rd party VPN! I had Norton 360 and was experiencing some of the same issues as the original poster—namely messages freezing, unable to make calls—so I deleted the VPN, restarted, and boom—everything works again! Thank you SO much! I work in a hospital and need my phone to be able to receive texts/calls, so I’m deeply appreciative of your help!

@RalphSATX - its been 4 days since you messaged that everything is working fine.

Please share the feeback on the performance and battery live for 12 pro max after IOS 26 update.

I am planning to update.

Thanks,

RalphSATX wrote:

Yes, it seems like it took a couple days for the iOS 26 to completely make all the changes. Battery life is the same as before the upgrade. The new features are very useful. Highly recommend upgrading to iOS 26. Remember you need to give it time to convert all files to the new iOS and may need to reboot a few times.

Good observation. Apple actually says that in →About Apple software updates - Apple Support:

Immediately after completing an update, particularly a major release, you might notice a temporary impact on battery life and thermal performance. This is normal, as your device needs time to complete the setup process in the background, including indexing data and files for search, downloading new assets, and updating apps. 

Similar, but in my case I cannot open the phone. I did full clear and reset now can’t swipe up to access keypad

how can I undo the OS update, without getting in to the phone

hard reset x10 times no luck